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User blog:BattleGames1/BattleGames1's Season of War Episode 4 - Irish Republican Army vs Russian Mafia
You know what? F*** it. I may have unfinished battles that I need to start working on ASAP but I want to actually move things along and not feel 'left behind' while others continue to churn out battles. Just so you know - Sun Tzu vs William the Conqueror and Zande vs Celt will no longer have battles attached to them (but the first battle - LRDG vs E Co. - will and I will get round to it eventually). Now that I have that out of the way... Last time on the Season of War, we had two uniquely bloodthirsty warriors from ancient societies fight it out who is the superior tribal fighter. Now we must descend into the pits of the criminal underworld as two fearsome and ferocious gangs battle it out to see who is master The Irish Republican Army, Britain's own terrorist organisation dedicated to uniting Ireland through force... vs The Russian Mafia, the most brutal organised criminal empire created to perhaps resurrect the Soviet Union... WHO... IS... DEADLIEST? IRA The IRA, or the Provisional Irish Republican Army, is an Irish paramilitary group who had goals of reuniting Ireland and to remove United Kingdom influence. The group separated from the Irish Republican Army because of the two factions' conflicting agendas. The PIRA desired to unite Northern Ireland with the Irish Free State by violent means. The army is comprised of volunteers trained in the use of firearms and explosives. In order to execute their agenda, soldiers used bombing attacks to terrify their British occupiers. These bombings include the Manchester and Docklands bombings. Recently, in 2005 the IRA Army Council decided to use peaceful political means to accomplish their agenda instead of using violence, bringing an end to the armed campaign. Russian Mafia Although the Russian mafia (or Bratva) is not a singular criminal organization, most of the individual groups share similar goals and organizational structures that define them as part of the loose overall association. Organized crime in Russia began in the imperial period of the Tsars, but it was not until the Soviet era that vory v zakone ("thieves-in-law") emerged as leaders of prison groups in gulags (Soviet prison labor camps), and their honor code became more defined. After World War II, the death of Joseph Stalin, and the fall of the Soviet Union, more gangs emerged in a flourishing black market, exploiting the unstable governments of the former Republics, and at its highest point, even controlling as much as two-thirds of the Russian economy. In modern times, there are as many as 6,000 different groups, with more than 200 of them having a global reach. Criminals of these various groups are either former prison members, corrupt Communist officials and business leaders, people with ethnic ties, or people from the same region with shared criminal experiences and leaders. =Now Let's Examine the Weapons= Melee KABAR The KABAR knife is a combat knife that was first used by the US military during the Second World War as an alternative to their WWI-era knuckle-dusters and FS knives on loan from the Commonwealth. It's popularity increased both in and out of the military during the Vietnam War owing to its already established status as a well-built dual purpose knife - for both survival and as a fighting knife. The blade on the KABAR is similar to that found on a Bowie knife - in other words a clip-point-style blade - and is about 7in long. Hunting Knife A hunting knife is a knife used during hunting for preparing the game to be used as food: skinning the animal and cutting up the meat. Hunting knives are traditionally designed for cutting rather than stabbing, and usually have a single sharpened edge. The blade is slightly curved on most models, and some hunting knives may have a blade that has both a curved portion for skinning, and a straight portion for cutting slices of meat. Some blades incorporate a guthook. In this instance, the blade length is about 8in long. BG1's Edge Despite the extra inch, the hunting knife is not a combat knife in the true sense - its more like an improv weapon the Russian mafia would use as often as they would use a kitchen knife. Therefore the edge goes to the KA-BAR combat knife. Short Range Browning Hi-Power The Browning Hi Power is a single-action, semi-automatic handgun available in 9mm and .40 S&W calibers. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Herstal, Belgium. It was designed in response to a French military requirement for a new service pistol, the Grand Rendement (French for "High Yield"), or alternatively Grande Puissance (literally "high power"). The pistol itself was used in most of the world's armed forces from WWII until the 1990s-2000s where it became phased out by other pistols. In keeping with the French criterion, the Hi-Power was light at about 2.2lb, had a 13-round magazine, 9mm bullets that gave the gun a muzzle velocity of 335m/s and a range of 50m. Makarov PM The Makarov pistol is a Russian sidearm developed and produced in the Soviet Union. The Makarov was the standard sidearm for Soviet troops all the way until the collapse of the communist regime. Nikolai Makarov designed the weapon to replace the TT-33 pistol. Firing the 9x18mm Makarov, the pistol had a magazine capacity of eight rounds. The weapon was selected because of its simplicity and decent stopping power. Since 2003, the Makarov has been replaced by the MP-443 Grach. However, there are still a high amount of these Soviet pistols on the market and are used by Russian law enforcement. More than a dozen countries still use the pistol as their side-arm of choice. It carried 9mm rounds in an 8-round magazine, weighed about 26 ounces, a muzzle velocity of 315m/s and a range of 50m BG1's Edge The main difference between these two pistols is the type of round they use - yes they both use 9mm ammo but the Makarov's 9mm ammo is smaller than that carried around in the Browning Hi-Power and because of this, the Hi-Power - which gets the edge here - is able to fire more bullets and deadly ones at that. Yes it may be heavier than the Makarov but the weight is accounted for. Medium Range MP5A4 The Heckler and Koch MP5 is a submachine gun chambered for the 9mm round. Since the 1960s, the weapon has been popular around the world and is currently a popular weapon used by law-enforcement agencies, special forces groups, and terrorists. Through the success of the G3 battle rifle, the MP5 war created and the design of the submachine gun was based upon the rifle. The weapon was immediately was adopted by 40 countries several years after it was manufactured and by numerous law enforcement and security organizations. The rate of fire, accuracy, and light-weight of the gun was what made it successful. Their are currently 22 variants of the MP5, the two most popular being the MP5A4 and the MP5K. In this instance, the MP5A4 will be used meaning it will weigh 6.4lb, have a muzzle velocity of 400m/s and a firing rate of 800RPM, carry a 30-round magazine and have a range of 200m. Vityaz-SN The PP-19-01 "Vityaz" is a recent development of the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (IZHMASH); this weapon evolved from relatively unsuccessful PP-19 "Bizon" submachine gunon request from elite Russian law enforcement team "Vytyaz". It is based on the AKS-74U compact assault rifle, with simple blowback action, although "Vityaz" uses more conventional box magazines and fires more powerful 9x19 ammunition which is now standard in Russia. As of mid-2007, PP-19-01 is in limited production in Izhevsk and is already in use by some specialized SWAT-type OMON teams of Russian police and other law enforcement agencies. The PP-19-01 "Vityaz" can firemost commercially-available 9x19 Luger/Parabellum or 9mm NATOammunition, as well as Russian issue 7N21 armor piercing ammunition. It has a range of 200m, a magazine of 30 rounds, weighs 6.4lb, has a muzzle velocity of 380m/s and a firing rate of 700RPM. BG1's Edge Two almost similar guns however I have to side with the MP5A4 owing to its greater rate of fire and higher muzzle velocity - end of story. PS I was originally going to use the Thompson and PPSh SMGs but it turns out that in recent history, the IRA imported MP5s and the Russian mafia are using AK-based SMGs more often than PPShs. Long Range AR-18 The AR-18 is a gas operated, selective fire assault rifle chambered for 5.56x45mm ammunition. The AR-18 was designed at ArmaLite in California by Arthur Miller, George Sullivan, and Charles Dorchester in 1963 as an improved alternative to the AR-15 design, which had just been selected by the U.S. military as the M16. While the AR-18 was never adopted as the standard service rifle of any nation, its production licence was sold to companies in Japan and England, and it is said to have influenced many later weapons such as the British SA80, the Singaporean SAR-80 and SR-88, the Austrian Steyr AUG, and the Heckler and Koch G36. It gained some notoriety through its use by the Provisional IRA, which allegedly christened it the "Widowmaker". It weighs in at about 7lb, has a rate of fire of about 750RPM, a muzzle velocity of 991m/s and a magazine of 30 rounds. AK-74 The AK-74 is an assault rifle developed in the early 1970s, by Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov as the replacement for the earlier AKM (itself a refined version of the AK-47). It uses a smaller 5.45×39mm cartridge, replacing the 7.62×39mm chambering of earlier Kalashnikov-pattern weapons. Compared to the preceding AKM the AK-74 has better effective range, firing accuracy (a main development goal) and reliability. Presently, the rifle continues to be used by the majority of countries of the former USSR. Additionally, licensed copies were produced in Bulgaria (AK-74, AKS-74 and AKS-74U), the former East Germany (MPi-AK-74N, MPi-AKS-74N, MPi-AKS-74NK) and Romania (PA md. 86). Specifications-wise, it weighs almost (but not quite) 7lbs, has a rate of fire of about 650RPM, a muzzle velocity of 900m/s, a range of 500m and a magazine of 30-rounds akin to those found on the RPK-74 LMG. BG1's Edge This one is most likely too close to call and is similar to the comparison in the show between the AR-15 and AK-47 but unlike that, I will have to call this Even since the improvements made in the AK-74 and AR-18 over their grandfathers have actually evened the playing field in terms of firepower and portability. Extra Long Range Barrett M82A1 The M82 is a recoil-operated, semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle developed by the American Barrett Firearms Manufacturing company. A heavy SASR (Special Application Scoped Rifle), it is used by many units and armies around the world. It is also called the "Light Fifty" for its .50 caliber BMG chambering. The gun is fed from a large detachable box magazine holding up to 10 rounds, has a maximum range of 1800m, weighs approximately 30lb and has a muzzle velocity of 853m/s. Dragunov SVD The SVD (Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova)-Dragunov Sniping Rifle was the first rifle designed from scratch as a sniper rifle, and was introduced in the 1950's. It has very limited similarities to the Kalashnikov series of rifles. It was designed as a squad support weapon since, according to Soviet and Soviet-derived military doctrines, the long-range engagement ability was lost to ordinary troops when submachine guns and assault rifles (which are optimized for close-range and medium-range, rapid-fire combat) were adopted. It has a magazine of 10 rounds, weighs 9.5lb, has a muzzle velocity of 830m/s and an effective firing range of 800m. BG1's Edge It's really hard to call this one since the M82 can fire from a farther range and has powerful bullets but the Dragunov is easier to carry around as a rifle. Therefore call this Even too. Explosives (Grenade) Nail Bomb One of the IRA's signature weapons, the nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device packed with nails to increase its wounding ability. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to greater loss of life and injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. The nail bomb is also a type of flechette weapon. Such weapons use bits of shrapnel (steel balls, nail heads, broken razors, darts and bits of metal) to produce a large radius of destruction. Because the weapon is custom-made, it's size, materials, and explosive power varies from one bomb to another. RGD-5 The RGD-5 hand grenade is a post-WWII Soviet hand grenade that was used by the Russian military from the 1950's onward. The grenade is activated by pulling the safety pin and then throwing the grenade. Simple and lightweight (weighing in at 310g) with an enormous blast radius of up to 30m, the RGD-5 is still in use with several of the Soviet Union's former client states, such as Iraq and other Arab nations. It is filled with 110g of TNT and it detonates after 4 seconds. BG1's Edge Sorry IRA but I think this one goes to the RGD-5 because it is a true grenade in that you don't necessarily have to activate it via remote control - you just pull the pin, throw and go. On that note though, as a circular-shaped grenade it has a tendency to roll AND the grenade is relatively easier to notice than the nail bomb. Explosives (Other) LPO-50 The LPO-50 is a Soviet-made flamethrower that was first used during World War II. The LPO-50 used three fuel tanks carried on the back. Unlike other flamethrowers which use pressurized gas to project the fuel, the LPO-50 uses a black powder cartridge to empty each tank. Because of this, the weapon could be fired exactly three times, each shot completely emptying one of tanks. It was also uniquely designed to be fired from the prone position as well as standing up. During the Cold War, the LPO-50 was one of many weapons illegally imported by the IRA into the Isles from Libya. RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a Soviet-made 85mm anti-tank rocket launcher. The weapon was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and, like the AK-47 has since been widely exported during the Cold War era, and is still in the arsenal of many countries and paramilitary organization. The weapon is known for low cost, ease of use, durability and reliability. To some, it's the very symbol of guerrilla warfare. The weapon has a maximum range of 920 meters, but is only effective at up to 200 meters. BG1's Edge The show's already shown the result between these two - the RPG-7 is superior to the flamethrower in that it can be fired from a further distance away plus its main component (the warhead) is not vulnerable to being destroyed easily compared to the tanks of the flamethrower. =Now Let's Look at the X-Factors= Table Explanations *Logistics - Both groups, as criminal organizations, had to have got their weapons from the black market and they both imported weapons from overseas. Since the IRA had a much bigger war to fight on their homefront in comparison to the mafia, their volume of imports was perhaps larger and more varied. *Physicality - My guess is that for the members in both groups to stay alive in their profession, they would need to be very fit physically to engage in the crimes that they do. I gave a slight edge to the Russian mafia given that they are known to engage more frequently in physical altercations than gunfights (though both are common in their world). *Combat Experience - I would like to give this to the Russian Mafia since their roots in organized crime extend all the way back to the 1700s but the members within each group have varied experiences; some may have military backgrounds, some might not - its a mixed bag. *Training - The IRA have been constantly fighting against British Armed Forces throughout their run and thus their training in the art of guerilla tactics would have had to be more rigorous if they were to stay alive. I'm not too sure about the training regime of the mafia but guesses are that they train from time to time thanks to their superiors who but not as often as the IRA *Brutality - Both groups engage in very hostile and violent criminal activities but while the IRA focus on their enemies in the Isles, protecting those loyal to their cause and not harming innocents, the Russian mafia do not discriminate in their targeting like any organized crime syndicate does even if they appear to be looking lavish. *Tactics - The IRA are guerilla fighters, the Russian mafia are merely criminals. Sure the Russian mafia may have smart tactical manoeuvres owing to their 'training' with other criminals and ex-military personnel but this is implemented against the police; the IRA on the other hand are up against the British armed forces and thus had to counter those army tactics with their own. =Now Onto the Battle= Battle IRA: x 10 Russian Mafia: x 10 So you Irish 'soldiers' think you are better than us Russian mobsters, eh? And that gives you the right to demand more from us because you are in the middle of a war here? Sorry but we are not your care packages. If you want new guns to play with, go get them somewhere else! Immediately after hearing those words, the IRA negotiator quickly whipped out his Browning pistol and shot the brigadier out of seething rage ( x 9). In return, one of the brigadier's bykis raised his own rifle, ready to fire it only to have a bullet zip into his head ( x 8). As the other byki ducks for cover, the IRA negotiator (who also happened to be the leader) runs out the door of the warehouse, switching his Browning for the Armalite. Outside the base, the IRA soldier holding a still smoking Barrett sniper rifle rushed down from his post on the hill to notify his comrades of the operation's commencement before scurrying back up top. He peered through the scope in subtle excitement as he witnessed the truck carrying his fellow soldiers smash through the front gate to the surprise and anger of the Mafia. He continued to fire his Barrett on the oncoming mobsters, laying down each shot suppressively. Down on the ground, the Boeviks continued to engage the Irish soldiers with their rifles, weaving through tight corridors and hopping into empty buildings and crates as they do so. One particularly brave Boevik hides on the second floor of an office and begins to lay down some suppressive fire on his own using the Dragunov - eventually capping down one unlucky Irishman ( x 9). Noticing this from up his post on the hill, the Barrett-wielding Irishman tried to aim his sights at the sniper but could not get a clear vantage. Moving from his position, the sniper drew out his MP5A4 in case he ran into trouble. As he moved down from the hill and onto the truck, the Russian sniper continued to force the Irish troopers to head for cover. The lead soldier, unbeknownst to the mobsters, snuck back to the truck and got out the dreaded nail bomb that his Army was infamously known for using. Tucking it away into his coat, the lead soldier joined his team as they continued firing at the mobsters. Each gang exchanged gunfire that rang ceaselessly through the air and each managed to cap one of their foes - one with just a single painless shot ( x 7) from the AR-18, the other with a barrage of bullets ( x 8) from the AK-74. Seeing this gunfire tactic not working in their favour, one Boevik crawled away to get their secret weapon. Meanwhile, the IRA soldiers broke rank from their gunfire to try something new too. As the lead soldier barked orders at his men, the Russian sniper from before fired at the group killing two soldiers in the process ( x 6). Seeing this happen, the Irish sniper tried to aim his Barret at where the Russian sniper was. Unfortunately, his movement was already picked up by his rival as a scope flare and thus the Russian mobster immediately dodged the oncoming wood-shattering shot. Moving to another window, the Dragunov man tried once more to look out for the Irish sniper but as he got close to another window, another sniper bullet pierced the wall and scraped him on the cheek. Unable to return fire, the Boevik made a daring move and jumped through the window on the opposite side of the room and disappearing from the sniper's point of view. As the sniper duel was raging, the Russian mobster from before arrived back onto the site of the battle with an RPG rocket, loaded and ready to move. Noticing that the Irish soldiers were now in hiding in one of the dockyard buildings, the mobsters decide to play dirty and split up into groups ready to counter the ambush. One group of three, armed with Vityaz SMGs and the RPG circled around the supposed office building, hiding behind a group of nearby rusty crates. The other, armed with another SMG and 2 AK-74s, circled around to the front, hoping to distract their supposed ambushers. Hiding in wait inside the single-storey office building, the 4 IRA soldiers (including the leader) patiently held their breath as they waited for their bait. Suddenly a large explosion detonates near one soldier ( x 5) and the others are showered with splinters and other rubble. As the chaos began, the Russian mobsters stormed the area in the hopes of catching their targets off-guard. Indeed they have but as if by some miracle, the remaining 3 soldiers make a hasty retreat into the pile of abandoned crates and refuse. Meanwhile, as the 2nd team continued to swing back to the front line to join their comrades, they are suddenly confronted by another Irish soldier wielding the equally dreadful LPO-50. In a matter of moments, the soldier lets loose with his new toy and torches the unlucky mobsters to death - one of them dying before he could even plunge into the icy cold water below ( x 4). As the flamethrower smugly looked at his charring work, he is suddenly gripped tightly from behind by a pair of burly hands. It is the Russian sniper who slits the Irishman's throat open with his hunting knife ( x 4). Tossing his bloody hunting knife aside, the sniper ran off to provide support to his fellow comrades. At the same time, the 3 Irish soldiers are joined by their fellow sniper. Each exchanged an angry sentence about the death of their mates and what their next plan of action is. With a shared nod, each of the soldiers was directed to somewhere they could shelter themselves from the onslaught. Unfortunately, as the Irish sniper moved to his position, he found himself in the sights of his Russian rival - and with one pop to the neck, the Irish sniper fell to the concrete ( x 3). This drew ire from the lead soldier who stood up from his cover and wildly fired onto the mobsters, managing to kill one ( x 3), until his AR-18 ran out of ammo. Knowing this, another brave Irish soldier quickly dived for the sniper's MP5A4 and tossed it to his superior. By the time they turned back however, the mobsters already disappeared - supposedly hiding in cowardice from the fury they have unleashed. As the Irish soldiers advanced through the menagerie of crates, the lead soldier suddenly dives in front of his subordiantes in fear - an RGD-5 grenade has just rolled onto the floor and is heading their way. Before the two soldiers could actually react, they are suddenly blown away by the grenade blast ( x 1) leaving the leader all alone with renewed vengeful vigour. Scouting ahead to look for the Ruski bastards who killed off his support, the leader suddenly came across two of them. With a shout, the leader began to sprint as fast as he could to a safe distance. Reasoning it would be better to play on their own terms, the leader took out the nail bomb in his coat and smiled at his own brilliance.Just moments after the IRA leader shouted at them, the Russian mobsters ran as fast as they could to where the leader stood patiently. As they drew closer, they gunned the figure down... only it wasn't the leader but one of their own soldiers dressed as the leader. Standing dumbfoundedly as to where their target could be, the leader smugly appeared before them atop a crate wielding a remote control in his hands. Before the mobsters could react however with bullets, the Irishman reacted more quickly with a press and then a loud boom as the nail bomb he planted earlier explodes ( x 1). Hearing this from afar, the remaining Russian soldier cautiously sheaths away his Dragunov and takes out his Makarov pistol. At first he hears faint illusory clanking around him to suggest someone was moving. However as his senses continued to play tricks on him, the IRA leader yelled and hopped down from above, disarming the mobster and strangling him to the ground. With enough strength to match, however, the mobster quickly kicked the Irishman back and recovered his standing. From then on the two were locked in a melee that consisted of staggering punches and kicks that would've certainly almost killed them. With each block and strike, the melee became more and more intense. Then, just as it appears that the mobster was winning with his Irish foe caught in a choke-hold, he felt a searing blade penetrate his back multiple times in rapid succession. The IRA man had used his KA-BAR when he wasn't looking ( x 0). As the grip on his neck loosened, the IRA man picked himself up from the ground, dusting himself down before making his way out back towards the van. Winner: IRA Expert's Opinion The Russian Mafia may have been brutish and violent gang that towered over their Irish enemies physically but the IRA were a full-on rebel army that packed superior weaponry, tactics, training and combat experience over the Ruskis which sealed them the win. If you think this battle is unfair in any way, shape or form, you can go ahead and do a rematch. Notes *Battleground: Abandoned dockyard (buildings, crates, the lot) - the Russian mafia will be inside a main warehouse while the IRA will be attacking from the outside. *Voting ends when I say so - simple as that. Category:Blog posts